In this competitive world of business, it is necessary that companies optimize their business process to be efficient and satisfy their customers. Hence, companies are trying to cut down overheads by automating various steps in their business process. Effort to streamline the business process is being made across various industry verticals, service industry being one among them. The hotel industry is one of the service industries wherein, in addition to process streamlining, customer satisfaction is of utmost importance.
Generally, in a restaurant business, when a customer walks in to restaurant, he is provided with a table if it is available, else he will be asked to wait in the waiting room till a table is made available. The customer after being given a table may have to wait for a waiter to come to him so that an order can be placed. Alternatively, if a customer after being given a table might be waiting for another person to join him, and may get annoyed if a waiter keeps coming to him to take the order. However, if the customer is in a hurry, he might prefer to order for food while he is in the waiting room. If a customer is a frequent visitor of the restaurant and likes a set of items in the restaurant, to order the same, he will have to browse through the menu to recollect the names of his favorite dishes. Additionally, a customer while ordering for a dish may wish to read a brief description of the dish and may also wish to see how the dish would look like.
Customer loyalty is maintained by providing various offers to customers who visit the restaurant regularly. However, maintaining a list of frequently visiting customers is a tedious process which requires human intervention in collecting and collating the data. As the restaurant business grows, branches of restaurants are opened at different locations. When the restaurant decides to change their menu or the prices of the dishes, the restaurants will have to get a new menu printed, which requires investment of time and money.
In light of the foregoing discussion, there is a need for a system which facilitates a customer of a restaurant to order for dishes without having to wait for the waiter. Additionally, the customer should be able to check the availability of a table and book the same before coming to the restaurant. The customer should be able to read about the dish which he desires to order and he should also be able to see images of dish before ordering the dish. The system should be able to recognize the customer when he starts to use the system. The system should be able to provide a list of favorite dishes of the customer if the customer is a frequent visitor of the restaurant. The system should also facilitate in making changes in the restaurants' menu.